Re: Mission 3: The sound of machina
ON
"Get me that wrench!" Tom's voice echoed down the corridors of the subdeck, over the grinding sound of metal and engines. The engineer had the upper half of his body stuck through a panel connecting to a section of the hyperspace fold drive. It had been quite a long day, and the poor Yamataian didn't have time to eat dinner. At least his grease-covered form made it easier to fit into tight spaces like this, but his thin frame was getting quite the workout in the art of the contortionist.
Ichigo, looking upward at her boss, did as instructed, handing the wrench upward toward his heldout hand. "Here!" The Neko's lithe frame was equally covered in dirt.
"Thanks!" Tom quickly went to work, removing the panel directly in front of him and placing the bolts on top of the sheet of metal, where they clanked around. The engineer had an idea of replacing the wiring between the main drive and battery for more efficient power production. "Ichigo, please get me a handful of type 3 wires and a soddering iron."
The Neko did as asked, handing up the wires first, then the portable soddering iron. "We've got a new engineer sprite, Juni. She's very smart. Yuzuki is her name!"
"Mmmhm," Tom said. "When was she created?" His reached for a mini-knife in his pocket and shredded the end of the wires to make connection points. Although such small conversation may annoy other officers, Tom wanted to encourage a family atmosphere in the subdeck.
"VERY recently," Ichigo replied, enthused. "She is actually as old as Sanri ... but she's still kind of new. But she's nice! Very dedicated to her profession."
"I'd hope so," Tom muttered below his breath. "Anyway, Ichigo, you're one of the veteran sprites down here, right?"
"Yes Juni," Ichigo replied happily. "I'm the best at engineering. Nimura's a better fighter. She likes that stuff. I don't though. Too violent. I'm a lover, not a fighter! — Nngh! Oi, shimatta! Gunk in eye!"
Tom's form snaked out from the panel, plopping on its rear to turn to Ichigo. "Are you ok?" He pulled out a cloth and motioned for the sprite.
Ichigo took the cloth and swiped at her eye, which now looked like it was painted over with greasy black makeup. "Yes Juni, fine," she said, pausing with the rag near her mouth. "Sorry Juni. We should continue."
"Anyway," Tom said with a soft sigh. "The reason I asked you that was because I wanted to know if you'd like a little more responsibility..." his voice trailed off.
"Responsibility? Of what type, Juni?" Ichigo's good eye was wide; her other was still shut tight.
"Well, the Miharu is doing a fine job of providing me with more staff, but you know how I am," Tom grinned. "I like to stick my head in there and get down and dirty. Unfortunately, this leaves the other sprites running about, perhaps out of earshot from a certain chief engineer."
He stretched his arms behind him and flexed his back muscles to try to work out a sore spot. "While I trust the capabilities of the other sprites, I may need a liaison at times to provide the group opinion on matters and to also serve as my assistant. As a fellow sprite, I feel you have a deeper connection with the others, and, given your experience, you'd be good to fit into a leadership role for the others while I'm attending other duties. What do you think about that?"
"I ... " Ichigo blushed under the dirt of her face. She had not expected that! An assistant position? Was it possible? I mean, to be able to serve the Juni so ... closely! "Juni, I would be honored!"
"That is good then," Tom said before turning a bit more serious. "Before you accept, however, please understand that the added power comes with more responsibility. As I would be ultimately responsible for failures in the subdeck, you would be responsible for the activities of the sprites. Can you set a good example and be the leader I think you can be?"
"Yes Juni! Yes I can! I will do exactly as you ask and lead my sisters to success!" Ichigo could hardly believe it. She was being promoted!
"Fantastic. I expect no less than excellence from you." He looked up. "Miharu, please give the sprite Ichigo an acting promotion of Nito Hei in the subdeck." He extended his hand to the sprite. "Congratulations. Make me proud."
Ichigo almost started to cry. But crying out of the one eye didn't feel very good, so she tried to hold her tears back. She couldn't, and cried as she took Tom's larger hand into both of her small ones. "Y-Yes Juni! I won't let you down! I promise, Juni!"
The engineer patted the sprite on the back, rather touched by the output of emotion. He began to think of something... but stopped. That would be something to talk to Yukari about. "Hey there, why don't you take a short break and get that stuff out of your eye. I'm sure nothing will blow up while you're gone."
The Neko sniffed and nodded, still smiling despite her reddening face. "Yes Juni! Right away! *snrt* I will be back soon!" She quickly darted away toward the showers.
As he saw the sprite run off, Tom shook his head with a chuckle before returning to his duties.
END
ON
"Get me that wrench!" Tom's voice echoed down the corridors of the subdeck, over the grinding sound of metal and engines. The engineer had the upper half of his body stuck through a panel connecting to a section of the hyperspace fold drive. It had been quite a long day, and the poor Yamataian didn't have time to eat dinner. At least his grease-covered form made it easier to fit into tight spaces like this, but his thin frame was getting quite the workout in the art of the contortionist.
Ichigo, looking upward at her boss, did as instructed, handing the wrench upward toward his heldout hand. "Here!" The Neko's lithe frame was equally covered in dirt.
"Thanks!" Tom quickly went to work, removing the panel directly in front of him and placing the bolts on top of the sheet of metal, where they clanked around. The engineer had an idea of replacing the wiring between the main drive and battery for more efficient power production. "Ichigo, please get me a handful of type 3 wires and a soddering iron."
The Neko did as asked, handing up the wires first, then the portable soddering iron. "We've got a new engineer sprite, Juni. She's very smart. Yuzuki is her name!"
"Mmmhm," Tom said. "When was she created?" His reached for a mini-knife in his pocket and shredded the end of the wires to make connection points. Although such small conversation may annoy other officers, Tom wanted to encourage a family atmosphere in the subdeck.
"VERY recently," Ichigo replied, enthused. "She is actually as old as Sanri ... but she's still kind of new. But she's nice! Very dedicated to her profession."
"I'd hope so," Tom muttered below his breath. "Anyway, Ichigo, you're one of the veteran sprites down here, right?"
"Yes Juni," Ichigo replied happily. "I'm the best at engineering. Nimura's a better fighter. She likes that stuff. I don't though. Too violent. I'm a lover, not a fighter! — Nngh! Oi, shimatta! Gunk in eye!"
Tom's form snaked out from the panel, plopping on its rear to turn to Ichigo. "Are you ok?" He pulled out a cloth and motioned for the sprite.
Ichigo took the cloth and swiped at her eye, which now looked like it was painted over with greasy black makeup. "Yes Juni, fine," she said, pausing with the rag near her mouth. "Sorry Juni. We should continue."
"Anyway," Tom said with a soft sigh. "The reason I asked you that was because I wanted to know if you'd like a little more responsibility..." his voice trailed off.
"Responsibility? Of what type, Juni?" Ichigo's good eye was wide; her other was still shut tight.
"Well, the Miharu is doing a fine job of providing me with more staff, but you know how I am," Tom grinned. "I like to stick my head in there and get down and dirty. Unfortunately, this leaves the other sprites running about, perhaps out of earshot from a certain chief engineer."
He stretched his arms behind him and flexed his back muscles to try to work out a sore spot. "While I trust the capabilities of the other sprites, I may need a liaison at times to provide the group opinion on matters and to also serve as my assistant. As a fellow sprite, I feel you have a deeper connection with the others, and, given your experience, you'd be good to fit into a leadership role for the others while I'm attending other duties. What do you think about that?"
"I ... " Ichigo blushed under the dirt of her face. She had not expected that! An assistant position? Was it possible? I mean, to be able to serve the Juni so ... closely! "Juni, I would be honored!"
"That is good then," Tom said before turning a bit more serious. "Before you accept, however, please understand that the added power comes with more responsibility. As I would be ultimately responsible for failures in the subdeck, you would be responsible for the activities of the sprites. Can you set a good example and be the leader I think you can be?"
"Yes Juni! Yes I can! I will do exactly as you ask and lead my sisters to success!" Ichigo could hardly believe it. She was being promoted!
"Fantastic. I expect no less than excellence from you." He looked up. "Miharu, please give the sprite Ichigo an acting promotion of Nito Hei in the subdeck." He extended his hand to the sprite. "Congratulations. Make me proud."
Ichigo almost started to cry. But crying out of the one eye didn't feel very good, so she tried to hold her tears back. She couldn't, and cried as she took Tom's larger hand into both of her small ones. "Y-Yes Juni! I won't let you down! I promise, Juni!"
The engineer patted the sprite on the back, rather touched by the output of emotion. He began to think of something... but stopped. That would be something to talk to Yukari about. "Hey there, why don't you take a short break and get that stuff out of your eye. I'm sure nothing will blow up while you're gone."
The Neko sniffed and nodded, still smiling despite her reddening face. "Yes Juni! Right away! *snrt* I will be back soon!" She quickly darted away toward the showers.
As he saw the sprite run off, Tom shook his head with a chuckle before returning to his duties.
END
